


Unfiltered

by Erisabesu (ErisabesuFic)



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Domestic Fluff, Drama, M/M, Video Cameras
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-25 03:40:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22009393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErisabesuFic/pseuds/Erisabesu
Summary: “Naruto hears the muted beep of the machine turning on, and then the whir of the outdated motor…” [2009.03.07]Inspired by the prompt: Video Camera
Relationships: Sai/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 8
Kudos: 32
Collections: Naruto





	Unfiltered

**“Unfiltered”**

♦

Naruto hears the muted beep of the machine turning on, and then the whirr of the outdated motor—through his sluggish brain his shinobi senses are acute enough to register the noises an arm span to his right, and identify them. Next he feels the gentle dip and shift of the mattress as Sai climbs back into bed, and it’s abundantly clear what Sai’s up to, _again_.

Naruto sighs and ends up fighting off a yawn, still lethargic from deep sleep. “Quit it,” he warns, eyes still closed.

“I’m not doing anything.”

Naruto shields his face with one arm, and swings the other back and forth in an attempt to protect his dignity. “Don’t you know how early it is? Lemme sleep.”

Sai catches his wrist and holds tight. “I am not keeping you from sleep, Naruto. You are the one moving around.”

“Because _you_ are being annoying again,” Naruto argues, finally opening his eyes. He pulls on Sai’s grip and tries not to smile, but isn’t very successful. “How can I sleep when I know you’re watching me?”

Sai moves the portable video camera away from his face, still holding Naruto’s wrist. He smiles. “I’m always watching you.”

“Ha ha.” Naruto rolls his eyes, sitting up. “I told you not to film me while I’m sleeping, like three times already.”

“But I want to.”

“Well I don’t want to look lame. Can’t you just do it normally? Like when I’m doing something badass or something?” Naruto pushes his fingers through his tousled hair.

Sai sets the camera aside and sits closer to him, dropping his voice. “I don’t believe you understand your appeal, Naruto.”

“Heh!” Naruto flexes his arm, rubbing the curve of his bicep. “I think maybe you just forgot the last time we sparred, huh?” Naruto wiggles his brows, grinning. “I’ve got a lot of awesome moves, you know.”

Sai drops his gaze, one finger scratching his cheek. “Hmm. Maybe…” He gets to his knees and backs off their bed, taking the camera with him.

“What?” Naruto asks, watching Sai fit the camera into its case and strap it shut. He blinks as Sai dresses in his mission gear, slinging the camera over his shoulder before stepping into his sandals.

Sai waves. “See you later.” Then he exits their apartment before Naruto can say another word.

Naruto stares at the closed door for a full minute, thinking this random change of plans has to be a joke—but when Sai doesn’t come back right away Naruto has to accept the unthinkable: Sai actually left him in bed, still naked.

“What the hell was that?!” Naruto grumbles, flinging off the covers and heading for a shower. “Forget you and that _damn_ camera.”

♦

Naruto doesn’t see much of Sai over the next two months.

From what Sai explained, he got the camera from the Interrogation department’s storage closet when the Hokage decided to get rid of the leftover junk from two upgrades back. The camera’s not nearly as good as current technology, but it works, and it was free, and Sai said he felt a change of medium might make for an interesting artistic development.

Sai’s new hobby has taken up a good chunk of his free time, but it hasn’t interfered with any of his mission assignments or substitute teaching stints, and their sex life hasn’t suffered any more flukes—which is really the only reason Naruto hasn’t bothered Sai about it too much. Naruto ‘s been pretty busy over the last weeks too; in some ways he’s seen more of Yamato than Sai, what with missions and training. Things are mostly still the same, though after that one conversation Sai hasn’t tried to film him at all. Which is fine… but maybe a bit disappointing?

Naruto shakes it off, and curls his fingers around the movie tickets in his pocket. If this is Sai’s new interest, he might as well join in. Who doesn’t like a good movie once in a while?

When he gets home he finds Sai busy behind the TV stand, cords looping from his hands back around the front of the cabinet and down to where the camera sits on the coffee table.

“Hey.” Naruto kicks off his shoes and goes over to investigate.

Sai gives him a genuine smile. “You’re just in time.”

“In time for what?” Naruto slips out of his flak jacket and tosses it over the back of the couch. He sits in his usual spot and stretches his feet out.

Sai clicks something into place and the TV screen goes blue. “I have something to show you.” He squeezes out from behind the movie cabinet and heads for the kitchen. “Want a beer?”

“Uh, sure I guess.” Naruto nods. “I haven’t eaten yet though; are you hungry?”

“Let’s eat after.” Sai opens two cold bottles of Yuengling and comes over; he places one on the table by Naruto’s knee. Then Sai bends down and kisses him, fingers tucked into blond hair.

Naruto kisses him back; eyes fluttering closed, and then open. He grins. “You’re in a good mood, I see.”

“I want to show you my movie.” Sai smiles, kneeling on the rug between his knees and moving the camera within his reach before sitting more comfortably.

Naruto grabs his beer and takes a swig, then leans forward so he can rest his hands on Sai’s shoulders. “The mysterious project, huh? I’m excited!”

“This is just an edit of the raw material I want to work with. There’s no sound—I haven’t begun to work with sound yet. But these are the shots I felt were the best; the ones I’ll use in the final product.” Sai leans back into him, hooking one arm under his calf and running fingers underneath his pant leg along his shin.

“Sounds pretty complex,” Naruto comments, proud of Sai for branching out.

“I’m having fun.” Sai looks back, eyes crescents of happiness.

“I bet you are,” Naruto grins, turning Sai’s chin up for a brief press of lips. He slides his arms across Sai’s chest and holds him. “So show me this movie of yours.”

Sai presses a button, and the first images come onto the screen.

Naruto recognizes the section of roofline that floats into view, a vent from the Laundromat underneath sending billowing steam into the air. It breathes out in soft puffs like a runner in winter, but the feel of the scene is warmer. The shot is in black and white, which is kinda strange–but maybe the camera is too old for color? Naruto decides to ask about it later.

The scene changes to the silhouette of a tall tree and a bird flying, wings beating in a steady rhythm across the open sky. Naruto tries his best to understand what’s going on, but this kind of thing… he can tell it’s artistic, but further than that is beyond him. It’s a bit uncomfortable.

The bird’s small black shape flies across an unclouded background and then ducks behind a different tree’s stark outline. The next image is a hand holding a cigarette and Naruto chuckles.

“I think I know who that is.” He sees a familiar thumb toy with the filter.

“Beautiful,” Sai nods.

Naruto frowns, confused. “Shikamaru’s hand is beautiful?”

“Of course.” Sai leans back into his hold. “Look at it. The shape of his fingers, the way he taps the ash. I’ve always wanted to draw this part of him.”

Naruto narrows his eyes at the screen; tries to see what Sai sees. He has his doubts. “Shikamaru’s hand is beautiful?”

“Yes. Everything in this movie is beautiful.” Sai’s eyes never leave the TV.

They watch as finally the hand moves up to Shikamaru’s mouth and he takes a drag, sharp eyes focused on something far in the distance despite his casual appearance.

Naruto doesn’t really get what Sai means, but he lets it go. Shikamaru exhales and the scene fades into an empty training field.

Then one by one some young shinobi walk into the frame and form a group, time slowed down in the film so that every giggle, every expression is caught while their legs make V’s and X’s from the side view.

They exit in a trickle on the other side of the screen, and the next face Naruto sees is _his_ —a wrist over his eyes and his arm passing back and forth in front of the camera lens, his grin visible through it all.

“Hey!” Naruto tightens his grip on Sai and gives him a playful shake, watching the footage from that morning a while back. “I thought I warned you about this kind of thing—jeez!”

Sai laughs in his quiet way. “Don’t be mad.”

Naruto doesn’t look as lame as he thought he would, so he feigns being miffed, and settles his arms back in place, thinking that maybe he’d like to videotape Sai this way when _he_ first wakes up. It’s such a mischievous thought he can’t really be mad at Sai for feeling the same way.

“Fine, fine, I’ll cut you a break this time.”

“Thank you.” Sai rests a hand on Naruto’s forearm where it crosses his chest. “The best part is coming soon. You’ll like it.”

Naruto chuckles and focuses back on the TV, but then frowns. What if Sai is expecting some sort of deep commentary when this is over—what is he going to say? Naruto doesn’t know the first thing about judging movies, having no personal artistic talents whatsoever—a fact Sakura has mentioned many times to poke fun at him. He knows that Sai is a genius, but… that’s obvious to everyone who sees his drawings. Naruto bites his lip, hoping that _something_ will leave enough of an impression for him to offer an adequate response.

Now the camera seems to be in motion, heading towards the arched supports of a twisting staircase that bridges two apartment complexes further down their side of town. The shot bobs gently in synch with the filmmaker’s footsteps, and Naruto pictures Sai walking through Konoha with the camera fixed to one eye, and smiles. He watches the white sunlight dim with the shadows as Sai passes underneath, and then brighten again on the other side, a vast range of greys captured in about five seconds of footage before the scene changes to something different.

Waist high grasses flatten to the side, bent in horizontal lines that reach out for the distant perimeter of trees. At first, Naruto isn’t sure what he’s seeing. Dirt and debris whip through the air in frenzy, suggesting an impending tornado lurking just out of sight to the right of the camera’s view. The rural location takes a moment for him to place and when he does, Naruto swallows, suddenly alert; the memory of what happened there recently spikes the hairs on his neck.

The camera pans, slowly, the movements even and controlled. Naruto’s heart thumps in his chest, thinking distantly that Sai must have used a tripod for this, while his eyes are glued to the upper right hand corner in fear of what he might see.

A shadowy mass, lumpy and translucent, swings into the frame and sends grasses flying through the air in its wake. The film vibrates—the ground beneath the tripod shaking—and then a gust of wind—power—sends sticks and grass scurrying across the screen in a swirl of distress.

It still kind of doesn’t make sense; he’s never seen anything like it; he can’t look away.

Three shadow-masses move and sway like gigantic fronds of a sea anemone, but there’s nothing pretty about what’s happening on the screen. These things are _dangerous_ –something innately feral in the way they flick back and forth, chunks of grasses uprooted by the vast… what _is_ it? A _pressure_ of unnatural energy.

If it had been in color, he’d have known right away. The grayscale version protects his mind for a few moments more—until he sees human-sized legs and feet crouched low on the ground under the bubbling shadow-cloak, and recognizes a tear at the cuff of one pant leg that he mended two nights back at the table in their kitchen.

Eyes wide, breath too tight in his chest, Naruto freezes in recognition. His fingers clench into Sai’s shirt, the camera still panning, panning, ever so slowly to the right and revealing the familiar pattern of his jacket, arms bent and hands in the dirt like some inhuman four legged creature.

“Naruto?” Sai’s voice is quiet.

“Turn it off.” His voice is not yet affected, but Naruto’s stomach clenches, threatening to make him sick. He does not want to see the face that matches this hideous body, trembling and pawing at the ground.

“What’s the matter?” Sai reaches for his cheek and Naruto shoves him aside and roars:

“TURN IT OFF!”

Naruto’s on his feet in the next instant, sweat rolling down his face, eyes still glued to the screen. Sai rolls to the side and up into a crouch, _watching_ him.

Naruto sees the first glimpse of deep black whisker markings and elongated teeth and feels something hysterical wriggling up his spine and between his ears. Is _that_ what it really looks like?

“TURN IT OFF!”

Naruto shudders, disgusted, and reaches for the cords running up to the TV and knocks over one of the beer bottles in his haste to yank the connection—Sai closes his hands overtop Naruto’s so he can not do so.

“Stop.” Sai looks way too calm. “Stop.” The beer empties out over the table and drips on the floor.

“I don’t want to see this!” Naruto shouts at him, furious and nauseated with anxiety.

Sai pries Naruto’s hand from the electric cords. “Stop it, Naruto. Listen to me—”

“NO!” Naruto yanks his hand free and holds his arms up in defense, fighting the urge to cover his face. His eyes flick back and forth between Sai in their living room and the roaring demonic beast on the screen. “I don’t want this, I don’t want to see this—”

“ _Naruto._ ” Sai steps closer and catches his arms at the wrists. “Hey, it’s okay, _look at me_.”

“No, I—” Naruto turns his head, edging away, the need to flee at war with the need to punch through the TV screen. “Get away from me, Sai—get the FUCK OFF!”

He shoves and Sai lets go and Naruto is able to take a deep breath and put space between them and the TV, clutching the neck of his t-shirt away from his hot, sticky skin. He glances at the video and sees an inhuman snarl twist his features beneath the blazing heat of the Kyuubi chakra stirring everything into distortion.

“I said TURN IT OFF!” He screams again, choking on bile and saliva. He coughs, miserable and wretched, then searches blindly in his holster for something to throw at the screen and Sai finally backs away, and pushes a button to make the TV go dead.

There hadn’t been sound to begin with, but the room suddenly feels quieter, too small, the air thick. Naruto shuts his eyes and hunkers into the wall beside the sofa to steady the unhinged feeling in his limbs.

He doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to sleep after seeing this.

Naruto presses the heels of his hands into the hollows of his eyes and takes another deep breath to calm the stampede inside his ribs, trying to make the horror go away.

Sai stays where he is on the other side of the room, motionless. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t want to see that!” Naruto spits the answer too fast; he clenches his teeth. “I never thought– _why’d_ you have to film something like that?!”

“Why not?”

“Because!” Naruto drops his hands, unaware of his voice’s volume. “Can’t you see how awful it is?”

Sai frowns. “But you’re so beautiful, so I…”

Naruto gapes, stricken. “That—that’s _not me_!”

“Yes it is—”

“ _NO!_ ” Naruto points at him, hurt shifting into rage. “That is NOT ME!”

“Yes it _is_.” Sai begins moving towards him. He holds up three fingers. “That is _you_ in control of the three tails—”

“Bullshit!” Naruto’s chest heaves with every breath. “I am not that _thing_ —”

“You are the only one with the power to control it,” Sai argues, invading the space between them.

“So _what_? That doesn’t mean anything!”

Sai reaches a hand for him. “That strength is _yours_ —”

Naruto knocks him away, skin moist with panic and tingling with fury. “Fuck you!”

Sai stops, eyes blinking in surprise.

“Fuck you for following me, and fuck you for filming that shit!” Naruto scrapes his fingers through his hair, catching the edge of his headband and flinging it onto the floor. He scratches his fingers through the dampness of his temples. “Dammit Sai, that is MY FIGHT! _MINE_! I’m the one that has to control it and nobody else needs to see me do it!”

Sai just stands there, which pisses Naruto off even more.

“What the fuck were you thinking, Sai?”

Sai drops his eyes.

“That you’d just film your little movie and nobody would care that the _evil demon-holder_ was out playing in the forest when he wasn’t supposed to? Huh?”

No answer.

Naruto growls, seething. “You think they’d just slap me on the wrist and fucking nominate you for movie of the year?”

Sai’s skin fades to white.

“You think I wouldn’t have hurt you when I was like that? You think because we fuck that you’d be _safe_?” Naruto grabs him by the elbow and shakes him. “Was it worth it to risk your life for a fucking exposé?”

The words are quiet; so quiet. _“I understand.”_

“What was that? Don’t think I heard you.” Naruto shakes him again.

Sai doesn’t repeat the words, but looks up to his eyes and then down to where Naruto’s hand squeezes his arm.

Naruto doesn’t feel satisfied; he feels edgy and antagonistic and really _wants_ to fight for the first time since they hooked up. He lets go of Sai, but not of the anger and shame coursing through his body.

Sai adjusts his sleeve back into place, but doesn’t rub his arm. He turns away.

Naruto bares his teeth. “You better not think you can walk away without a fucking apology!”

Sai only moves enough to bend down and touch the release on the side of the camcorder. He pulls out the rectangular video tape and meets Naruto’s eyes, straightening. Then Sai steps past him around the coffee table and into the nearby bathroom.

“Hey! Don’t you walk away from me!” Naruto takes two steps forward so he can see through the doorway.

Sai puts the videotape on the counter by the sink in front of their toothpaste tube, draws a kunai from the pouch at the small of his back and stabs into the hard plastic casing, cracking it. Sai breaks the rest with his fist–Naruto stands there in shock–and one end of the spool of film cascades down to the floor, ribbons of black on the white tiles, before Sai scoops up all the pieces and dumps them into the toilet in three handfuls. Sai closes the lid and hits the flush lever before facing him.

Naruto is the one to stand rigid and mute this time, as Sai comes back into the room and hesitates, once, before picking up the video camera with the same determination.

Seeing that hesitation undoes him; Naruto immediately moves to intercept. He takes hold of the camera and pulls it from Sai’s yielding hands.

The two of them stand there, avoiding eye contact. Naruto looks down at the camera and thinks of the months Sai has carried it around the village in its protective case. Minutes pass, and finally Sai turns away like he’s really going to leave the apartment and Naruto holds out his arm and pulls Sai in against his body.

Sai leans his forehead against Naruto’s shoulder.

Naruto tries to figure out something to say, but fails. Eventually he shifts towards the couch and Sai moves with him; Naruto puts the camera back down on the coffee table in an area not wet with beer so they can sit, side by side, still looking anywhere but at each other. Sai’s fingers are limp within his. Naruto clenches his teeth and slides down to lie on his side across Sai’s lap, head pillowed by the sofa’s armrest. After a moment, Sai’s fingers find the back of his head, stroking and curling into his messy blond hair.

Naruto closes his eyes. “I shouldn’t have yelled.”

“I made you angry. It’s understandable.” Sai continues to touch his hair, noticeably more tentative than normal. It still feels good.

Naruto cups his hand around Sai’s leg, just above the kneecap. “I wasn’t expecting … I’ve never seen what it looks like when it… when I… you know. ”

Sai tucks some hairs behind Naruto’s ear, then rubs his neck at the bottom of his hairline. “I’ve always found you beautiful. Even that way.”

Naruto cringes at the word choice, but lets it go; it’s not really the point. “Normal people would be scared out of their minds, Sai–it was ugly. Ugly and gross and … and horrible.”

“Is it not the same for me because I love you?”

Naruto frowns, thinking. When he doesn’t answer right away the hand in his hair stills, and then withdraws. Naruto turns on Sai’s lap to lie on his back, needing to see Sai’s face. Sai looks down at him, expressionless.

“You say love… are you sure you know what you’re talking about?”

Sai’s lips press thin. He brushes his knuckles down Naruto’s cheek with one hand. The other, he rests on Naruto’s flat stomach, palm atop his navel. “I do love you. All of you. Even this. If you doubt me, then I have made more mistakes than I thought.”

“Yeah, well, neither of us is perfect.” Naruto moves Sai’s hand away from the Kyuubi seal and sets it on his chest, over his heart, tracing the lines of his fingers and the tendons along the back. “I did like your movie, Sai. The first part. It was very, um… artistic. It was good.”

Sai chuckles through a half smile. “I should have considered your feelings.”

“You couldn’t have known.” Naruto looks away. He sighs. “It’s too bad the tape is destroyed. All that work you did.”

“I can do it again.” Sai shrugs. He returns his hand to Naruto’s crown. “Maybe I’ll put that project aside for a bit, though. Work on my paintings.”

Naruto sees the results of this conflict weighing on Sai’s brow, feels the wedge between them. “Well if you want to film me again, just ask. Some things I mind … but some things I don’t.”

Sai smiles, and Naruto smiles back, briefly. They sit in silence for a time, until Naruto has to get up and take a piss. He lifts the toilet lid and stares into the bowl, then puts the lid back down.

He figures he can probably hold it for a few more minutes, long enough to get to someplace with a public bathroom. He remembers the tickets in his pocket and runs the edge of one under his thumbnail, then leaves them where they are. His appetite isn’t what it should be. Naruto returns to the couch and grabs his discarded flak-jacket.

Sai looks up at him, part curious… and part wary. A new expression.

Naruto tries to hide the grim feeling that it won’t go away for a while. He holds out his hand anyways.

“Hey. You in the mood for some Ramen?”

Sai puts the video camera away before they go. Naruto turns off the lights.

Halfway down the street Sai takes his hand, the two of them passing underneath a staircase bridging two apartment complexes, and turning at the corner Laundromat where billowing steam pants from vents in the rooftop.

—

Ω


End file.
